Universities of Warwick and Coventry will collaborate on 13 projects in support of Coventry City Council in the run up for UK City of Culture 2021

Universities of Warwick and Coventry will collaborate on 13 projects in support of Coventry City Council in the run up for UK City of Culture 2021

Innovative collaborations involving LEGO, dance, storytelling and photography set to help prepare Coventry for City of Culture 2021
Universities of Warwick and Coventry to collaborate on the 13 projects during Spring/Summer 2018
All collaborations will actively invite local residents to participate and will feature academics from both universities
Partnership between Coventry and Warwick in support of Coventry City Council’s Cultural Strategy goals; partnership, lifelong learning, diversity, health and well-being and economic growth
First announced collaboration seeks Coventrians’ solutions on how to live on Mars

COVENTRY, 02-May-2018 — /EuropaWire/ — Coventry’s universities are to embark on a series of collaborations to bring their research directly to Coventrians in the run up to UK City of Culture 2021.

Working with local cultural groups the University of Warwick and Coventry University will collaborate on 13 projects during the spring and summer of 2018 that will support Coventry City Council’s Cultural Strategy.

Covering a diverse range of research expertise across the institutions, the collaborations will highlight the Cultural Strategy’s goals of partnership, lifelong learning, diversity, health and well-being and economic growth.

The first project to be announced, Is the future of Humankind, Martiankind?, will use LEGO Mindstorms and LEGO Architecture to help solve problem of how to send humans to Mars across five single day workshops in Coventry libraries (Earlsdon, Bell Green and Willenhall) and the Warwick and Coventry campuses.

A collaboration between Dr Alan Richards of Coventry University’s Disruptive Media Learning Lab (DMLL) and Dr Glenn Miles of WMG, the University of Warwick, Is the future of Humankind, Martiankind? invites people to find solutions on how future Martian residents meet health, transportation, habitation, education and industrial needs.

With dates and venues set to be announced for all 13 Creative Exchanges, Is the future of Humankind, Martiankind? addresses a question that would once seem only in the realm of science-fiction but is increasingly becoming science-fact – with the necessary reusable rocket technology already under development, but what solutions can Coventrians come up with to help them on their way?

Commenting on the forthcoming collaborations the University of Warwick’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Stuart Croft, said:

“The spirit of partnership and pride in our city that helped ensure Coventry’s selection as the next UK City of Culture is evident in these innovative collaborations.

“Through working together to bring our research to Coventrians, the University of Warwick and our friends from Coventry University are already hard at work and looking forward to 2021 and what will be an exciting time for our region”.

Discussing the collaborations Coventry University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor John Latham, said:

“The successful UK City of Culture campaign showed how Coventry is stronger, more creative and has more impact when everyone within it comes together. It’s an ethos that has inspired this series of projects.

We’re proud to be working with the University of Warwick, organisations from around the city and local people on these exciting projects and hope they will add to the growing anticipation surrounding Coventry’s year as UK City of Culture.”

ENDS.

SOURCE: University of Warwick

Contacts:

Tom Frew – Senior Press and Media Relations Manager, University of Warwick